Skydiver Dies After Parachute Fails

[bdmc]

Some sad news..

http://www.kitv.com/cnn-news/21277165/detail.html

Skydiver Dies After Parachute Fails
HFD Says Victim Was Off-Duty Navy SEAL

HONOLULU -- An off-duty Navy SEAL died Monday after his parachute failed to open, an Emergency Medical Services spokesman said.

The accident happened at about 12:30 p.m. on Oahu's North Shore.

A man in his 20s made a jump from about 13,000 feet, HFD Capt. Earle Kealoha said. Employees from Skydive Hawaii found the man face down in a pond on Dillingham Ranch, he said.

Police and fire officials administered CPR and used a defibrillator.

Paramedics treated the victim and took him to Wahiawa General Hospital in critical condition, where he was pronounced dead, EMS spokesman Bryan Cheplic said.

[10thvet]

Blue skies...

[Le3]

Blue skies.

[SATCOM]

RIP Frogman....

[Le3]

According to DZ.com it was a misrouted bridle, he had no AAD.

[Trip_Wire]

RIP Warrior

[Alex F]

RIP

[TC Strat]

The Iron Man Triathalon had six SEAls jump into Kailua Bay at the start of the swim portion of the race on Saturday. It's so sad to hear of this accident.

RIP and Aloha oe

[Jazz]

Blue Skies

[trident86]

Word from Hawaii is Owens was a Navy Diver (not a SEAL) assigned to SDV Team ONE. Sorry to hear it either way. RIP Deep Sea!

[Sharky]

According to DZ.com it was a misrouted bridle, he had no AAD.



Jeeeze......no AAD? :(



RIP

[Kip]

RIP.

[Starlight]

Blue Skies.

[CAP MARINE]

Semper Fidelis,Sailor

[s1chmoe]

Damn, lots of freefall accidents lately. RIP

[TPD1280]

RIP

[agonyea]

Rest in Peace!

Here is the latest news article that I could find on this incident.

Skydiver dies after parachute fails



By Christie Wilson

Advertiser Staff Writer

The Federal Aviation Administration has determined that yesterday's skydiving death at Dillingham Airfield was caused by an improperly packed parachute.



NetNews-Daily.comGet listed here An off-duty Navy SEAL died when his parachute failed to open during his third jump of the day, according to Ian Gregor, communications manager for the FAA's Western-Pacific Region. Skydive Hawaii identified the man as Kenneth Richard Owens, 27, of 'Aiea.

An FAA investigator who examined Owens' gear and reviewed a video of the fatal skydive determined the bridle cord connecting the smaller pilot chute to the main parachute was "misrouted" during repacking, Gregor said. As a result, it was unable to pull the main parachute from its container.

"We will continue to investigate to determine whether the skydiver packed his own chute or had someone else do it," Gregor said.

The FAA investigator who is looking into the accident is a veteran skydiver and certified senior rigger who has completed more than 2,800 jumps, he said.

Honolulu police have the parachute and are conducting their own investigation.

The accident was reported just before 12:30 p.m. after Owens landed in a pond mauka of Dillingham Ranch off Farrington Highway, said Honolulu Fire Capt. Earle Kealoha Jr.

Witnesses estimated the man was face-down in the pond for about five minutes before he was pulled out by Skydive Hawaii employees, Kealoha said. Fire department personnel attempted to resuscitate Owens and he was taken to Wahiawa General Hospital. An autopsy is expected today.

Gregor said Owens had made 87 recreational jumps prior to yesterday's fatal skydive, and it is possible he may have additional parachuting experience with the military.

The Navy man owned his parachute, a used one he purchased from the Mainland, said Frank Hinshaw, president of Skydive Hawaii, which had arranged for the skydiving flight. He said Owens was not an FAA-certified parachute rigger.

Under FAA rules, Owens was allowed to pack his main chute but would have needed a certified rigger to pack his reserve parachute within 60 to 120 days of use, depending on the parachute material.

Even though Owens was an experienced skydiver with his own gear, "we still try to watch those people," Hinshaw said.

On his last jump, the Navy man exited Skydive Hawaii's Cessna Caravan at 13,000 feet with three other parachutists, according to Hinshaw. Owens' parachute should have deployed at 2,000 to 3,000 feet from the ground, but video of the jump shows only the pilot chute deploying and not the main parachute.

Gregor said it's unclear whether Owens tried to use his reserve parachute, which also did not deploy.

Hinshaw said the malfunction of the main parachute system should not have prevented the skydiver from using the reserve chute, which is deployed using a separate rip cord. The other skydivers on the same jump with Owens reported that he appeared to be conscious and did not suffer any apparent medical distress during the descent, he said.

Leading up to the accident, it was "just a normal day" with mostly clear conditions and trade winds of 10 to 15 mph, he said. Following the fatality, the business ceased operations for the day.

"We regret the loss of a Navy SEAL with such great promise and appreciate his service, and we mourn with his family and friends," Hinshaw said.

In January 2006, a Skydive Hawaii instructor and a tourist from Japan on a tandem jump drowned when they overshot a landing zone at the airfield and ended up in the ocean.

In February 2005, an experienced skydiver, also a Navy man, was killed after his parachute rigging became tangled during descent

[heavyguns1/1]

RIP

[bugeater]

RIP

Doesn't make much sense. Even if he wasn't jumping an AAD (bad on him) he should have had plenty of time to cutaway...

[Le3]

RIP

Doesn't make much sense. Even if he wasn't jumping an AAD (bad on him) he should have had plenty of time to cutaway...

Don't want to sound like a smart ass, but the cutaway itself wouldn't have saved him. He had a parachute in tow. Cutting away before reserve deployment could have been important and part of the normal procedures for a parachute in tow, but if he had already gone low...

Guess he lost altitude awareness under this highspeed malfunction.

But there are many possible scenarios.

[bugeater]

Don't want to sound like a smart ass, but the cutaway itself wouldn't have saved him. He had a parachute in tow. Cutting away before reserve deployment could have been important and part of the normal procedures for a parachute in tow, but if he had already gone low...

Guess he lost altitude awareness under this highspeed malfunction.

But there are many possible scenarios.

You didn't sound like a smartass at all. And sorry, I should clarify. When I said cutaway, I meant cutaway procedures. Once started, don't stop blah blah, so cutaway thru reserve activation etc. I meant throw away, look - grab, look - grab, arch...etc etc.

I hear you, lots of possible scenarios. Either way, jumping w/o an AAD isn't (IMO) smart, but regardless of his choice, the fact another military member and jumper died, just plain sucks.

[armorer1]

Ken was an intelligence officer who was SCUBA qual'd....I didn't know him to well, but my good friend who was armorer at SDVT-1 knew him&said he was great guy. RIP Ken.

[CB]

Owens' parachute should have deployed at 2,000 to 3,000 feet from the ground,

If he truly had only 87 free fall jumps, he should have been deploying at least 2,500' AGL per USPA Basic Safety Regulations. 2,000 feet AGL is for Class C and Class D license holders (minimum 100~200 freefall jumps).

Pilot chute in tow poses a slight risk of entanglement if the reserve pilot chute gets into an argument over right of way, but the reserve bridle should be long enough that it deploys even in the face of a full horseshoe of the main.

Makes me wonder if he was attempting to "unwrap" the bridle from wherever it was misrouted. If so, he would have been in a tumble, not stable face to earth.

A jumper in full freefall at 2,500 feet has perhaps eight seconds to get the reserve pilot chute into the airstream or ground impact is inevitable. The drag from a pilot chute in tow might give the jumper one additional second.

Not a good day.

[sfmedicw9]

agreed - if it wasnt coming untangled Im not going to spend a whole lot of time fighting it

if the winds still blowing the reserve is going - fuckit give the investigators more work

Rest In Peace

[Old_Starlight]

RIP

[Carl Spackler]

Got this from a bud at SDVT-1

9615


ALCON DEEP SEA AND FRIENDS,

Attached is a copy of the Memorial Service for ND2 Ken Owen that was held
here at SDV Team ONE last Friday afternoon. The ceremony was one of true
remembrance, the attendees were from all Diving commands on Oahu, support
commands and members from all walks within the Navy and the civilian
community, standing room only. Ken's family members were very appreciative
of all the support from the Navy as a whole and all that knew him.
Additionally as you will read on the program his family wanted any donations
to be giving to the Naval Special Warfare Foundation in Kens name. The link
is also attached and pls make note to annotate your gifts are in "Memory Of
ND2(DSW) Ken Owens".

https://www.givedirect.org/give/givefrm.asp?CID=4730


The services are viewing/wake on Wed Oct 21 the time for that is 4-8 PM, the
funeral is on Thu 22 Oct the time for that is 11. The name, address, and
phone number for the funeral home is:

Nickerson Funeral Home
87 Carowell Rd
Chatham MA 02633
(508)945-1166

Fair winds and following seas my deepsea brother.

[Spot379th]

...the fact another military member and jumper died, just plain sucks.

Damn.

RIP.

[Gryfen-FL]

Damn, losing a loved one to old age hurt. Losing someone to a recreational accident like this must be a level of hell all on it's own.

Condolances to the Family & Team Mates
Rest In Peace

[KJ]

AOD's on the AF parachutes I jumped were on the main. It wouldn't have mattered for me.

As to this case, the AOD/ADD will not notice if the bridle is tangled or if there is a parachute in tow, it will activate if you are falling fast enough, low enough, period.

Blue skies.

[SOTB]

AOD's on the AF parachutes I jumped were on the main....I was thinking the same -- and if he had deployed his main but the pilot chute was wrapped up, I'm wondering how an AOD would have helped him in this case. Unless the problem with the pilot chute was that it was not pulling the packing pin (or whatever nomenclature is used for the final pin when you stuff the bag into the container -- YES, I am a former MFF Jumpmaster, sorry - it's been awhile) and getting the whole thing out of the container and into the air.

I am one of those who firmly believe that many guys (I am not referring to ND2 Owen, since I never saw him jump) simply don't give enough serious -- no shit -- review and mindset to emergency procedures. Emer procedures in jumping should be as practiced and as automatic as malfunction drills with one's firearm.

RIP dude....

[Le3]

I was thinking the same -- and if he had deployed his main but the pilot chute was wrapped up, I'm wondering how an AOD would have helped him in this case.

Do you mean the pilotchute still in the BOC (a horseshoe malfunction - which isn't really probable if he actively deployed his main) or the pilot chute wrapped around the main (he would have had "lots" of time to react in a proper way and I guess the AAD wouldn't have fired since the partially inflated canopy woulfd have slowed his descent).

Unless the problem with the pilot chute was that it was not pulling the packing pin (or whatever nomenclature is used for the final pin when you stuff the bag into the container) [...]

As it seems this was the malfunction (the pilot chute didn't pull out the pin for one reason or another) he encountered.

[SOTB]

As it seems this was the malfunction (the pilot chute didn't pull out the pin for one reason or another) he encountered.I was thinking that this would be the reason an AOD would have maybe helped....

[rgrjoe175]

Blue Skies

[bigsapper]

Damn. Blue skies.

[OldSwabbie]

As with any servicemember who looses his/her life.. I am profoundly and terribly saddened. Whether its a combat related death or an accident, the loss is the same. My prayers to his fiance and family.

RIP Sailor.. :(

PS.. Maybe in another thread could someone explain what an AAD or AOD is? Its not my area of expertise to be sure. Thanks.

[ironpaw]

RIP...

PS.. Maybe in another thread could someone explain what an AAD or AOD is? Its not my area of expertise to be sure. Thanks.

from wiki:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automatic_activation_device